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posted by martyb on Monday January 28 2019, @10:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the remember-when-browser-war-was-IE-vs-Netscape? dept.

Microsoft Engineer Causes Online Wrath After Saying Firefox Should Use Chromium

Mozilla should give up on its own browsing engine and switch Firefox to Chromium, a Microsoft engineer said in a series of tweets, as what the company does right now is "building a parallel universe that's used by less than 5 percent."

The message posted by Microsoft Product Manager Kenneth Auchenberg has triggered an almost instant reaction from the user community, with most of the replies pointing out that building alternative products that can compete against Chromium is vital for the health of the browsing ecosystem.

"It's time for @mozilla to get down from their philosophical ivory tower. The web is dominated by Chromium, if they really *cared* about the web they would be contributing instead of building a parallel universe that's used by less than 5%?" he tweeted.

"I couldn't disagree with you more. It precisely *because* Chromium has such a large marketshare that is vital for Mozilla (or anyone else) to battle for diversity. I'm shocked that you think they're not contributing. "Building a parallel universe"? That *is* the contribution," web developer Jeremy Keith responded.

[...] Auchenberg's message has obviously received more acid replies, including this one criticizing Microsoft's recent browser changes. "Just because your employer gave up on its own people and technology doesn't mean that others should follow," Asa Dotzler tweeted.

Also at ZDNet.

Previously: Microsoft Reportedly Building a Chromium-Based Web Browser to Replace Edge, and "Windows Lite" OS
Mozilla CEO Warns Microsoft's Switch to Chromium Will Give More Control of the Web to Google

Related: Is Google Using an "Embrace, Extend..." Strategy?
Google Denies Altering YouTube Code to Break Microsoft Edge


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  • (Score: 2) by Hyper on Tuesday January 29 2019, @02:32AM (1 child)

    by Hyper (1525) on Tuesday January 29 2019, @02:32AM (#793381) Journal

    So, basically, we're screwed unless another browser revolution happens again. This time from Firefox/Chrome to something better.

    Those who do not learn from the past?

    History repeats.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Freeman on Tuesday January 29 2019, @05:34PM

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday January 29 2019, @05:34PM (#793631) Journal

    Best we can hope for is that every single person that used Chrome with Ad-blockers, switches to Firefox when ad-blockers are removed from Chrome. That will provide an extra boost to Firefox and it's usage. Which could eventually turn into a whole lot more people on Firefox. I wouldn't necessarily hold my breath though. I added uBlock Origins to my mother-in-law's computer, to help cut down on the stream of calls I kept getting. Not too long ago, she told me to turn it off. So, she can use a toolbar thing that tracks her usage, where she buys things, etc. In order to receive / build up credit to get coupons or something like that. I don't know exactly, my mind was still trying to catch up to the insanity. I tried in vain to get her to turn it off only on the sites she wanted, but she insisted on the removal of the thing that was keeping the internet from giving her computer the equivalent of Ebola.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"